Cihideung Orchids

The Moth Orchid (phalaenopsis sp) is one of the more common (non-exotic) species of orchids cultivated and sold at Cihideung floral village in the north of Bandung.

The moth orchid is native to southeast Asia. Its native habitats spread from the Himalayan mountains in the west to the Philippines' Palawan island in the east, and from Taiwan's Ponso No Tao (the Orchid Island) down to Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku (the Mollucas), and Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Islands) in the south.



The moth orchid (phalaenopsis sp.) is one of the most cultivated and popular orchids because it is easy to grow in artificial conditions. In its native habitats, it normally thrives in warm temperatures of between 20 to 35 degrees centigrades with high humidity level (between 60 to 70 percent) and low light intensity (under shades, with about 12,000 to 20,000 lux of light).

Sundanese Rebab

Rebab is a two or three string musical instrument that is believed to have originated from the Middle East. It was introduced into the Indonesian archipelago by Moslem traders at about the 10th century CE or about the same time as Islam was introduced into the archipelago. Since then it has been adopted and adapted into the existing local musical ensamble of gamelan.

As you can see from the picture, the Sundanese (West Javanese) rebab - like that of Javanese - is shaped like a heart, has two strings, and two elongated tuning pegs at the top. The strings are usually made of copper. The heart-shaped body is made of wood and covered with a thin layer of membrane made of buffalo skin, intestine, or bladder. The elongated tuning pegs are significantly longer than its Asian siblings.

In a gamelan ensemble, rebab plays the role of the elaborating instrument that gives ornaments to the basic melody. As such, it can be played relatively freer from the scales that other instruments in the ensemble have to follow.

Mi Ayam Bandung (Bandung Chicken Noodle)

Mie ayam Bandung (Bandung chicken noodle) is a popular local fast food here. It consists of noodle, vegetable, and spiced chicken. People usually have it for lunch.

I think chicken noodle is originally Chinese. It has been adapted into the local culinary traditions and is therefore available in different varieties throughout east and southeast Asia.

Here is how it looks, sold, and prepared here. I took these pictures at UPI (Indonesia University of Education) campus at lunch time sometime ago.